Hosta plant named ‘Dancing with Dragons’

ABSTRACT

A new and distinct Hosta plant named ‘Dancing with Dragons’ of arching, ovate, strongly glaucous, blue-green leaves having a near white underside and wavy margins. The blue-green leaf coloration remains until near the end of the growing season. The flowers with white tepals having light lavender centers are tightly congested in verticils and individually on scapes above the foliage. ‘Dancing with Dragons’ has excellent compact mounded habit and is useful in the landscape, in containers, as a specimen or en masse.

Botanical classification: Hosta hybrid (Tratt.).

Variety denomination: ‘Dancing with Dragons’.

STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES UNDER 37 CFR 1.77(B)(6)

Hosta ‘Dancing with Dragons’ was first introduced by the inventor as a non-enabling description through the International Cultivar Registration Authority registration in early 2019. No plants of Hosta ‘Dancing with Dragons’ have been sold, in this country or anywhere in the world, nor has any disclosure of the new plant been made, more than one year prior the filing date of this application.

BACKGROUND AND ORIGIN OF THE PLANT

The present invention relates to a new and distinct hosta plant, Hosta ‘Dancing with Dragons’ hereinafter also referred to as the new plant or by the cultivar name, ‘Dancing with Dragons’. Hosta ‘Dancing with Dragons’ was a cross by the inventor between two non-patented, unreleased, proprietary hybrids on Jul. 26, 2012 at a wholesale perennial nursery in Zeeland, Mich., USA. The female parent was identified as H10-132-1 and the male parent was identified as H10-366-1. The new plant was assigned the breeder code 12-132-4 and passed the initial evaluation in the summer of 2014. It has been asexually propagated by division at the same nursery since 2017 and also by careful shoot tip plant tissue culture with the resultant asexually propagated plants having retained all the same traits as the original plant. Hosta ‘Dancing with Dragons’ is stable and reproduces true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.

There are nearly 6,000 registered and unregistered hostas with The American Hosta Society, which is the International Cultivar Registration Authority for the genus Hosta, and a similar or larger number of unregistered cultivars. Several of these have blue-green leaf blades with ruffled margins. The most similar hosta cultivars known to the applicant are the female parent, H10-132-1; the male parent, H10-366-1; ‘Diamond Lake’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 30,769; ‘Joy Ride’ (not patented); ‘Neptune’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 19,674 and ‘Waterslide’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 30,303. The female parent has is smaller in habit with smaller foliage. The male parent has broader foliage with more ruffles and forms a larger clump. Both parents have glaucous blue foliage. ‘Diamond Lake’ has much larger habit and broader foliage than the new plant, and also has more rugose leaf surface. ‘Joy Ride’ is larger in habit with a wider longer leaf blade and has less glaucous covering over the leaf blade. ‘Neptune’ is larger in habit and has leaves that are broader and longer. ‘Waterslide’ is smaller in habit, with less glaucous leaf blades, and the leaf blades are also more folded than the flatter leaves of the new plant. ‘Fulda’ (not patented) has a smaller habit, has a smaller, narrower leaf without the sinuate margin. ‘Medusa’ (not patented) has a smaller habit with narrower shiny leaves without glaucous surfaces that are variegated with a near white center and the flowers are deep purple.

Other Hosta cultivars may have medium-sized leaf blades with heavily glaucous leaves bases and stiff, thick leaf substance or other individual traits similar to ‘Dancing with Dragons’ but the new plant differs from the above listed cultivars and all other hostas known to the applicant, by the combination of the following traits.

-   -   1. Leaves are medium-sized, ovate, with narrowly acute apices         and cordate base;     -   2. Arching leaves have a moderately wavy margin.     -   3. Strongly glaucous blue-green surfaces that hold all season.     -   4. Underside of leaf near-white with strongly glaucous covering.     -   5. Compact mounded habit and useful in the garden as edging or         front border, in containers, as a specimen or en masse.     -   6. Flowers are white, broadly striped down the center of the         tepals with light lavender and densely arranged in verticils and         individually above foliage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The photograph of the new plant demonstrates the overall appearance of the plant, including the unique traits. The colors are as accurate as reasonably possible with color reproductions. Ambient light spectrum, temperature, source and direction may cause the appearance of minor variation in color.

The drawings shows the new plant in a trial garden at a nursery in Zeeland, Mich. with supplement fertilizer and water as needed.

FIG. 1 shows the landscape habit of a six-year-old plant just before flowering.

FIG. 2 shows a close-up of the flowers and buds on a six-year-old plant.

FIG. 3 shows a close-up of the foliage.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

The following descriptions and color references are based on the 2015 edition of The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart except where common dictionary terms are used. The new plant, Hosta ‘Dancing with Dragons’, has not been observed under all possible environments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that certain characteristics will vary with plants that are more mature or plants that are less mature. The phenotype may vary slightly with different environmental conditions, such as temperature, light, fertility, moisture and maturity levels, but without any change in the genotype. The following observations and size descriptions are of a six-year-old plant in a shaded trial garden in Zeeland, Mich. with supplemental water and fertilizer.

-   Botanical classification: Hosta x hybrid; -   Parentage: Female or seed parent the proprietary hybrid H10-132-1     which comprises ‘Medusa’, a select unpatented proprietary form of     Hosta venusta (not patented), ‘Neptune’ and ‘Fulda’; male or pollen     parent the proprietary hybrid H10-132-1 which comprises ‘Neptune’,     ‘Fulda’ and ‘Joy Ride’; -   Propagation: Garden division and sterile shoot tip plant tissue     culture; -   Time to initiate roots from tissue culture: About two to three     weeks; -   Growth rate: Moderately vigorous; -   Crop time: About three months to four months to finish during the     spring in a one-liter container from rooted tissue culture plantlet; -   Rooting habit: Fleshy, lightly branching; -   Root color: Nearest RHS NN155C when actively growing; -   Plant shape and habit: Hardy herbaceous perennial with basal rosette     of leaves emerging from rhizomes producing a short, compact, mound     of arching petioles and leaves and upwardly scapes flowering above     foliage; -   Plant size: Foliage height about 49.0 cm above soil line to the top     of the leaves, about 79.0 cm tall to the top of the flowers and     about 110.0 cm wide at the widest point at the soil line; -   Foliage description: Glabrous and strongly glaucous both adaxial and     abaxial; ovate; narrowly acute apex, cordate base; margin entire,     moderately sinuate; flexible but stiff; smooth, without blistering,     dimpling or bulging; -   Leaf blade size: To about 25.5 cm long and 14.0 cm wide; average     about 23.0 cm long and 6.2 cm wide; moderately glaucous adaxial and     heavily glaucous abaxial; -   Leaf blade color: Early season and expanding adaxial blend nearest     RHS 189B and RHS N138D, abaxial blend between RHS 188C and RHS 122B;     mid-season and later adaxial blend between RHS 189B, RHS 122B and     RHS N138D, abaxial nearest blend between RHS 188C and RHS 122B; when     glaucous bloom is rubbed or melted off adaxial nearest RHS 146A,     abaxial RHS 147B; -   Petiole: Glabrous and glaucous both adaxial and abaxial;     concavo-convex proximally and more flattened distally; stiff; to     29.5 cm long and 15.0 mm wide at base, average about 28.0 cm long     and 14.0 mm wide; -   Petiole color: Adaxial and abaxial between RHS 146C and RHS 189B; -   Veins: Ten to twelve pairs and midrib; parallel; slightly costate on     abaxial side; -   Veins color: Aadaxial nearest and RHS 160C; abaxial veins nearest     RHS 188C; -   Flower description: -   Buds one to two days prior to opening: Clavate with rounded apex and     narrow tube base; about 24.0 mm long and 8.0 mm in diameter at     widest with base narrowing at about mid-length to about 4.0 mm     diameter; -   Bud color: Between RHS 85C and RHS 85D; -   Flowers: Perfect; campanulate; slightly drooping; to 51.0 mm long to     exserted stigma; corolla fused in basal 31.0 mm, free in the distal     18.0 mm, about 49.0 mm long and 22.0 mm wide at tepal apices,     (distal flowers smaller); corolla tube portion 8.5 mm long and 4.5     mm fused corolla joints vitreous; persists for a normal period,     usually one day on plant; lower flowers tightly arranged in verticil     near middle and individually separated above and below; -   Flowering period: Scapes remain effective with flowers beginning     mid-July for about four weeks; with about 75 flowers per scape;     distinctly second; no detectable fragrance; -   Inflorescence: About 25.0 cm long and 10.0 cm wide; -   Tepal: Two nearly identical sets of three, glabrous; entire margins;     -   -   Inner set.—Fused in basal 31.0 mm; clavate with broadly             acute apex; each approximately 49.0 mm long and 14.0 mm wide             slightly above fusion point.         -   Inner set color.—Vitreous along margin; adaxial between RHS             85C and RHS 85D in apical 6.0 mm and along 19 mm of central             axis, white RHS NN155D proximally and along distal margin;             abaxial between RHS 85D and RHS 85C distally along margin             and in proximally along midrib of corolla tube.         -   Outer set.—Fused in basal 31.0 mm; clavate with broadly             acute apex; each approximately 49.0 mm long and 12.0 mm wide             slightly above fusion point.         -   Outer set color.—Not vitreous along margin; adaxial between             RHS 85C and RHS 85D in apical, and along 26 mm of central             axis, white RHS NN155D proximally and extending distally             along margin; abaxial between RHS 85C and RHS 85D distally             and along midrib on entire corolla. -   Gynoecium: Single; 62.0 mm long; superior;     -   -   Style.—Cylindrical; about 54.0 mm long, 0.8 mm diameter;             curved upward slightly in distal 10.0 mm; color nearest RHS             NN155A.         -   Stigma.—Puberulent; tri-lobed; about 1.5 mm across and 1.0             mm tall; color nearest RHS 8C.         -   Ovary.—Ellipsoidal; superior; apex acute; base truncate; to             about 7.0 mm long and 3.5 mm diameter in middle; color             nearest RHS 145A. -   Androecium: Six; to about 55.0 mm long;     -   -   Filaments.—Six, approximately 54.0 mm long and 0.8 mm in             diameter; curved upward to nearly 90 degrees in the apical             10.0 mm; color nearest RHS NN155B.         -   Anthers.—Ellipsoidal with rounded ends; dorsifixed,             longitudinally dehiscent; about 4.0 mm long, 1.5 mm wide;             color nearest RHS 15B.         -   Pollen.—Spherical; less than 0.1 mm long; color between RHS             10B and RHS 10C. -   Flower fragrance: None observed; -   Peduncle: Cylindrical, becoming slightly fluted distally; usually     one per mature division; 24 per plant; glaucous, glabrous; nearly     vertical to slightly outwardly; to about 83.5 cm tall, and about 6.0     mm in diameter at base, average about 74 cm tall and 5.0 mm diameter     at base; -   Peduncle color: Proximal portion below leaves nearest RHS 190A and     distal portion between RHS 188B and RHS 189B; -   Pedicel: Variable in length; terete; glabrous; glaucous; about 5.0     mm to 15.0 mm long and 1.5 mm diameter; outwardly to slightly     drooping; -   Pedicel color: Variable; dorsally nearest RHS 145A, ventrally     nearest RHS 193A distally and RHS 155B proximally with distal most     1.0 mm RHS 85B; nearest RHS 194C; -   Floral bracts: Each flower normally subtended by a single bract;     lanceolate; narrowly acute apex and truncate base; entire margin;     glabrous matte surface abaxial and adaxial; decreasing in size     distally; average about 15.0 cm long 3.0 mm wide; drying and     dehiscing before flowers open; -   Bract color: Adaxial and abaxial nearest a blend of RHS 189B and RHS     N138D; -   Fruit: Tri-valved dehiscent capsule; ellipsoidal to cylindrical with     apiculate apex and attenuate base; about 24.0 mm long and 6.5 mm     diameter; -   Fruit color: Between RHS N138B and RHS 147B; -   Seed: Typically about 27 per capsule; endospermic;     flattened-ellipsoidal wing surrounding embryo at one end of ellipse;     to about 7.0 mm long, 3.0 mm wide and 1.2 mm thick at embryo; -   Disease resistance: The thick glaucous leaves provide some     resistance to slug feeding. Other resistance to pests (including:     Odocoileus virginianus and Oryctotagus cuniculus) and diseases     common to hostas is equal that typical of other cultivars. The plant     grows best and shows best coloration with plenty of moisture,     adequate drainage and light shade, but is able to tolerate some     drought when mature. Hardiness at least from USDA zone 3 through 8,     and other disease resistance is typical of that of other hostas. 

It is claimed:
 1. A new and distinct Hosta plant cultivar named Hosta ‘Dancing with Dragons’ as herein described and illustrated. 